Ryan Joseph Hopgood is the owner/operator of Memphis Sandwich Clique, the new kitchen slated to open in June inside Rec Room.
And, yes, that’s the same Ryan Joseph Hopgood who started the popular Memphis Sandwich Clique Facebook group and Instagram page.
“I’m the owner/operator of the kitchen inside of Rec Room,” says Hopgood, 27. “It’s new and improved.”
Until the kitchen opens inside Rec Room, Memphis Sandwich Clique will be open in a food truck beginning with 3000 Broadfest, which will be held Saturday, June 5th.
The Rec Room Memphis Sandwich Clique is affiliated with the social media Memphis Sandwich Clique, which highlights sandwiches, Hopgood says. “I am the founder of Memphis Sandwich Clique. I created it. Yes, there is still a group website and Instagram page.”
The online Memphis Sandwich Clique began July 2019. “This absolutely has to do with that. That is basically the marketing aspect of that.”
Including some of “the city’s best sandwiches,” Hopgood says, “We’re going to have some non-sandwich items.”
They also will serve “some healthy food options” to coincide with Rec Room’s new Kokoon Yoga and 901 Kettlebell Club, which will open June 5th.
“I’m going to be the sole food operator for all the businesses inside. I’m going to be making weekly specials,” Hopgood says. “I’m going to highlight basically healthy and then bar food at the same time. For every unhealthy item, I want a healthy item to counteract that.”
Other businesses will include tattoo artist Babak’s studio, which is called Goatplow Tattoos, and Civil Axe Throwing.
Two chefs will work under Hopgood, who will help create the dishes. “We’re going to have specials we’re going to run.”
For 3000 Broadfest, Hopgood says the menu, created by athletic performance chef Ann Drum, will include a hot ham sandwich, a “chicken sammy,” a hamburger, an “avocado chicken sammy,” Zoodle pad thai, Vietnamese egg rolls, avocado fries, and hummus cookie dough for dessert.
All those items and more will be regularly included at Memphis Sandwich Clique, Hopgood says.
Hopgood was a natural fit for the job, says Martha Hample, one of the Rec Room operating partners. “Ryan has an immense local following on social,” she says, “so we had seen him on social and started talking about how we needed something relatively simple to execute.”
They already have Rawgirls, who will be serving juices, so they wanted to keep a healthy component in some dishes. “We couldn’t be doing the frozen pizzas like we were doing. We had to come up with something more inventive that would work with the other businesses.”
Like the other Rec Room businesses, Hopgood’s Memphis Sandwich Clique kitchen will be leased from the Rec Room, Hample says. “That’s how we changed our model, to become more of like a little miniature Minglewood.”
For Broad Fest, Rec Room will open at 9 a.m. June 5th. 901 Kettlebell Club will begin at 9:30 a.m. Activities will continue until 12:45 a.m. June 5th. Vendors will include Metro Hemp Supply. Hampline Brewing Company will be doing a tap takeover.
Rec Room now includes a newly built outdoor stage. Jack Oblivian, Josh & Jeremy, Turnstiles, and Lucky 7 Brass Band will perform Saturday, June 5th.
Rec Room is at 3000 Broad Avenue.